I am in desperate need of training advice.  I moved back into my parents
house about three weeks ago and because our house is a decent size
(especially from a ferret's perspective) and we have two dogs that could
be dangerous to them (we have a poodle and an american water spaniel, the
poodle LOVES the ferrets and I don't think he would hurt them unless it
was an accident, but the american water spaniel is a different story),
they are confined to my bedroom, which is where I spend most of my time.
There is a baby gate in my doorway to keep the dogs out and the part
facing my room is completely covered in cardboard so that they can't use
the holes to climb up the gate.  I figured this would be good enough but
less than twenty minutes after I put the new carboarded gate up, Mila
used the door jamb/edge of door by hinge to get herself over the gate.
So to fix that, I folded some cardboard into a sort of triangle so that
she couldn't use the door for support.  I also laid carboard in the
doorway and duct taped it down so she could rip up the carpet.  After I
did all this, she stopped trying to get over the gate for awhile, but for
about the past week, she has been obsessing over it and it is driving me
crazy.
 
I know that she is curious and that ferrets are diggers but she is the
most persistent animal I have ever seen in my life and nothing I do has
gotten through to her.  When I close the door, she lays off some, but
since I have been doing that more often she has started trying to dig the
duct tape off of the carpet.  Plus I would prefer to keep my door open
because I don't want to be shut off from the rest of the house all the
time.  When the door is open, she just digs and scratches at the triangle
piece I put up and is starting to rip bits of the cardboard off.  Besides
being very annoying, she does it constantly.  I'd say at least half of
the time she is awake.  When she does it, I scruff her, hold her so we
are looking at each other and tell her no loudly and the second I put her
down she starts doing it again.  I've also tried hissing at her after
saying no and that hasn't seemed to help and neither has a "time-out."  I
have also tried playing with her when she is doing it alot in case she is
doing it because she is bored and she won't play with me, its like there
is a ferret magnet there.  To make matters worse, she isn't even fazed by
Bitter Apple, so that doesn't help either.  She has even hissed at me a
few times.
 
I'm not sure if this makes any difference but my over ferret could care
less about the gate/door and only goes over there if she hears something
or if someone is standing on the other side and she just stands there.  I
understand that digging/scratching is a part of their behavior and will
occur once in awhile, and I can live with that, but not all the time.
Is there ANYTHING I can do?  Also, is there a way of training ferrets not
to go on certain pieces of furniture like you can with cats and dogs?  I
know that ferrets are much different than cats and dogs but I'm having a
problem with her getting on my desk too (and unfortunately, I haven't
figured out a way to keep her from getting on it since she can jump on
it from my bed and the way my bedroom is shaped and the kind of desk I
have - its a corner/L shaped desk, I can't move the desk or my bed).
ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
[Posted in FML issue 4567]